System for dynamic and automatic building mapping

ABSTRACT

The automatic building mapping system comprises a tracker module that can be carried by a user and an optional command module which operate to automatically map the rooms of a building as a user traverses the rooms of the building. The tracker module includes a transducer system that determines the present distance from the user to each of the walls of the room, the location of openings in the walls as well as an inertial guidance system that precisely locates the user with respect to a known reference point. The data produced by the tracker module of the automatic building mapping system can be transmitted to a centrally located command module so that multiple units can simultaneously be tracked and a mapping of the building effected from different perspectives to thereby create an accurate composite layout map. In addition, the user can receive a heads-up display to enable the user to visualize the layout of the building as the user traverses the various rooms of the building, and as concurrently mapped by other users in the building. Thus, an accurate virtual map can be created on demand by the users moving through the rooms of the building.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of prior U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/733,121 filed 08 Dec. 2000 now U.S. Pat. No.6,898,559. The entirety of this application is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to automated mapping systems and in particular toa system for automatically mapping the interior space of a building on adynamic basis as an individual traverses the various rooms of thebuilding.

PROBLEM

It is a problem in the field of building mapping to generate an accuratelayout of the rooms of a building in an efficient and inexpensive mannerand to have such a layout available for use in a computerized manner.The mapping of the rooms of a building has historically been donemanually, with the results being recorded on paper and stored in amunicipally maintained central archive library. Unfortunately, thesepaper records are infrequently updated and the records are thereforelargely inaccurate. Furthermore, access to these paper records isburdensome. Existing automated building mapping systems typicallycomprise systems that convert these paper records to a computer-basedformat for easy retrieval and use. Again, these records are not updatedwith any regularity and the integrity of the data stored in thesesystems is therefore compromised. Any automated building mapping systemsthat dynamically and electronically map the room layout rely on complexand often difficult to transport apparatus to laboriously map out theinterior spaces of a building. The resultant room mapping processresults in an efficient and accurate layout, but at the cost of anextensive amount labor and time required to execute the process.Therefore, it is atypical to have an accurate layout of the rooms of abuilding on demand.

This lack of an accurate layout of the rooms of a building on demand isparticularly a problem in situations where adverse conditions exist inthe building, such as a fire in a building, especially where thebuilding has not previously been mapped or the existing map has not beenupdated. In this Environment, the fire fighting personnel not only fightthe fire, but also need to delimit the boundaries of each room that istraversed and to locate doorways in each room. The need to map the roomsof a building as the fire fighter travels through the building relatesto many problems that can occur in a typical environment: the firefighter's air supply reaches exhaustion, or the fire fighter encountersthe situation where traversing the route taken through the building isnow blocked by the fire or debris, or it is not uncommon for the firefighter to become disoriented and the fire fighter fails to identify theroute out of the building, or the fire fighter is injured, and the like.In all of these situations, the lack of a map of the rooms of thebuilding and the inability to precisely identify the location of thefire fighter hinder the evacuation or rescue of the fire fighter fromthe building, since the rooms in reality comprise a dangerous maze. Thelack of both a map and the location of a fire fighter indicated on themap represents a common problem in this field.

Given the likely presence in the room of dense smoke and the threat offire, toxic gases and the like, the use of the existing possiblyinaccurate layout data is inadvisable. Therefore, the fire fighterproceeds through the rooms of the building blindly, without benefit ofknowledge of the extent of each room, the doorways contained therein,and ultimately the path to an exit from the building. Therefore, thefire fighter has a difficult task to retrace his path through the roomsof the building to exit the building and if this path is blocked, tolocate an alternative and safe path to an exit of the building.Unfortunately, there presently does not exist any system that canperform this task of automatically creating a virtual map of the roomsin a building and mapping a path to the building exit.

SOLUTION

The above described problems are solved and a technical advance achievedby the present automatic building mapping system which comprises atracker module that can be carried by a user and an optional commandmodule which operate to automatically map the rooms of a building as auser traverses the rooms of the building. The tracker module includes atransducer system that determines the present distance from the user toeach of the walls of the room, the location of openings in the walls andfloor as well as an inertial guidance system that precisely locates theuser with respect to a known reference point. The data produced by thetracker module of the automatic building mapping system can betransmitted to a centrally located command module so that multiple unitscan simultaneously be tracked and a mapping of the building effectedfrom different perspectives to thereby create an accurate compositelayout map. In addition, the user can receive a heads-up display toenable the user to visualize the layout of the building as the usertraverses the various rooms of the building, and as concurrently mappedby other users in the building. Thus, an accurate virtual map can becreated on demand by the users moving through the rooms of the building.

In addition, with the user location data being available in real time,the user can be guided through the building and, if necessary, to anexit in the shortest and safest path possible. Additional data can becollected by this unit and in the case of a fire fighter, typical datawould be: ambient temperature, presence of toxic gasses, oxygen level ina breathing tank, time to exhaustion of breathable air in the breathingtank, user breathing rate and heart rate sensors, user time in area, auser failure to move indicator, command and control alerts, text readoutof messages from the command and control system, voice activation of theunit including the display, location of other users in the vicinity,warning indications. This data is available to the user as well as thecommand module to enable both the user and staff at the command moduleto continuously monitor the activity and environment in the building.Thus, the automatic building mapping system overcomes the limitations ofthe presently available computerized building layout databases and alsoprovides a significant number of additional capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram form the overall architecture of thepresent automatic building mapping system;

FIG. 2 illustrates in flow diagram the operation of the presentautomatic building mapping system;

FIG. 3 illustrates a typical map generated by the present automaticbuilding mapping system; and

FIGS. 4A & 4B illustrate a rear perspective views of a user equippedwith the present automatic building mapping system and a perspectiveview of the present automatic building mapping system, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates in block diagram form the overall architecture of thepresent automatic building mapping system and FIGS. 4A & 4B illustrate arear perspective views of a user equipped with the present automaticbuilding mapping system and a perspective view of the present automaticbuilding mapping system, respectively. The automatic building mappingsystem 100 comprises at least one tracker module 101, 102 that can becarried by a user and an optional centrally located command module 103that operates in conjunction with the tracker units 101, 102 toautomatically map the rooms of a building as a user traverses the roomsof the building.

The tracker module 101 can be implemented in many differentconfigurations and, for the purpose of this description, is shown as aunit 101 that can be worn by a fire fighter 400 as part of theirstandard equipment. The fire fighter is typically equipped with a helmet401 that has a face protective mask, as well as an air supply system 402(commonly referred to as a SCBA unit), protective clothing and the like.The tracker module 101 can be mounted as part of the air supply system402 or on a separate harness of other attachment that the user wears.The tracker module 101 includes a transducer system 111 that determinesthe present distance of the user from each of the walls of the room, andthe location of openings in these walls, as well as the floor. Aninertial guidance system 112 in the tracker module 101 precisely locatesthe user in the building and the rooms of the building with respect to aknown reference point, as well as providing user movement andorientation information. Each tracker module 101 contains a processor118, memory 120 (such as a disk drive or solid state memory), andsoftware 119 that can be stored in additional memory (as shown) or inmemory 120, and which software 119 executes on processor 118 to controlthe operation of the tracker module 101. The software 119 can write thedata received from the transducer system 111 in memory 120, process thisdata in conjunction with the output data from the inertial guidancesystem 112 to generate a map of the user's path through the buildingand/or transmit this data to a centrally located command module 103, viaa communications unit 113, for storage in memory 130 so that multipletracker modules 101, 102 can simultaneously be tracked and a mapping ofthe building effected by the command module 103 from differentperspectives to thereby-create an accurate composite layout map of thebuilding. Thus, an accurate virtual map of the building can be createdon demand by the users moving through the rooms of the building, withthe map being generated by the tracker module 101 and/or the commandmodule 103. The command module 103 transmits updated map information,based on the data received from all of the tracker modules 101, 102 tomemory 120. If communications are disrupted, the memory 120 has storedtherein a copy of the map of the building updated to a point in timewhen communications with the command module 103 were lost.

Additional data can be collected by a sensor module 114 located in thetracker module 101 which can measure various predetermined parameterssuch as: ambient temperature, presence of toxic gasses, oxygen level inthe users breathing tank, time to exhaustion of breathable air in thebreathing tank, user breathing rate and heart rate sensors, user time inarea, a user failure to move indicator, command and control alerts, textreadout of messages received from the command module, voice activationof the tracker module including the display, location of other users inthe vicinity via infrared scan, warning indications, and the like.

Tracker Module

The automatic building mapping system 100 therefore comprises aplurality of elements that are cooperatively operative to accuratelycreate a virtual map of the rooms contained within a building. Theprimary element used in the automatic building mapping system 100 is thetracker module 101, powered by a battery 117, and equipped with aprocessor 118 that interfaces with and controls the operation of the:heads up display 11 5, microphone and speaker 116, inertial guidanceunit 112, transducer unit 111, sensor module 114, and communicationsunit 113.

The inertial guidance unit 112 contains gyroscopes, accelerometers, andmagnetometers, to measure the movement of the user through the rooms ofthe building. The inertial guidance unit 112 continuously measures themovements of the user, including rotation and acceleration, caused bywalking and turning in any direction. The inertial guidance unit 112also contains optional magnetometers to provide magnetic correction ofthe gyroscopes to ensure accurate reporting of the movement of thetracker module 101. The inertial guidance unit 112 is initialized as theuser enters the building and transmits its data to the software 119 thatexecutes on the processor 118.

The transducer unit 111 produces room measurement data that can be usedto map the rooms of the building as well as correct the data produced bythe inertial guidance unit 112. The transducer unit 111 operates byproducing periodic “soundings” which determine the extent of the room inrelation to the transducer unit 111. This is typically accomplished byperiodically transmitting a signal, such as an acoustic signal, in thedirection of the walls of the room, which acoustic signal is reflectedoff solid objects in its path and returned to the transducer unit 111.The time required for the acoustic signal to reach an object in its pathand return is used to determine the distance to the solid object, evenif it cannot be seen. The acoustic signal that is generated by thetransducer unit 111 is typically in the form of a beam covering apredetermined angular range, such that the walls of the room are scannedfrom floor level to ceiling level, so that door and window openings areidentified by the absence of reflected signal components. In addition,any step down or openings in the floor are detected, as well asobstructions protruding from the ceiling. While an acoustic signal wasmentioned, the transducer can operate with any sounding technology, suchas: radar, laser, sonar, infrared, and the like. Each reading taken bythe transducer unit 111 results in the creation of a data entry in theprocessor 118 and command module 103 to create a data point on thevirtual map. The transducer unit 111 is attached to the tracker module101 in a manner where the relationship between the transducer unit 111and the inertial guidance unit 112 is maintained constant to ensureconsistent correlation between the two. Thus, the data produced by thetransducer unit 111 is compared to the data produced by the inertialguidance unit 112 to maintain the accuracy of the user position data.

Tracker Module Sensors and Display

The tracker module 101 can include a sensor module 114 that is equippedwith a plurality of sensor elements to measure various predeterminedparameters as the user moves throughout the building. The sensor module114 is in communication with the processor 118 and the sensor readingscan be presented to the user via a heads-up display 115 (which can be anintegral part of the face mask of the helmet 401 or an addition thereto)and/or transmitted the command module 103 via a radio frequencycommunication link, using communications unit 113. The sensors locatedin the sensor module 114 can measure and display numerous user relatedparameters as well as ambient parameters, such as: ambient temperature,presence of toxic gasses, oxygen level in the user's breathing apparatusair storage tank 402, time to exhaustion of breathable air in the user'sbreathing apparatus air storage tank 402, user's breathing rate andheart rate, users time in area, a user failure to move indicator,command and control alerts, text readout of messages received from thecommand module, voice activation of the user module including thedisplay, location of other users in vicinity, warning indication, andthe like. The heads-up display 115 can display the map of the buildingas well as any warnings/alerts that are relevant to the user of trackermodule 101. Furthermore, the heads-up display 115 can display ambientconditions data so the user can monitor the conditions in the presentroom environment. The number and types of data displayed can be underthe control of the user and are typically managed as a function of thecritically of the data.

Command Module

The command module 103 can include a plurality of elements that are usedto communicate with the various tracker modules 101, 102 that areoperational within the building and which generate the virtual map ofthe building. In particular, the command module 103 includes acommunications unit 123 that provides radio frequency communication withthe tracker modules 101, 102 and the users via the microphone andspeaker unit 116 in each tracker module 101, 102. The command modulealso includes a processor 128 and associated software 129 that receivesthe data from the transducer unit 111, inertial guidance unit 112,sensor module 114 in each of the tracker modules 101, 102 and integratesthis received data to produce the composite map of the building as wellas a mapping of the user's status and ambient conditions encountered inthe building.

Operation of the Automatic Building Mapping System

FIG. 2 illustrates in flow diagram the operation of the presentautomatic building mapping system 100 and FIG. 3 illustrates a typicalmap generated by the present automatic building mapping system 100. Atstep 201, the user, located at a building entrance 301, activates thetracker module 101 of the automatic building mapping system 100 toinitialize the inertial guidance system 112 as well as the varioussensors in the sensor module 114 to establish baseline values for all ofthe parameters that are measure by the automatic building mapping system100. Therefore, the precise location of the tracker module 101 isidentified to provide the mapping software 119, 129 with a point ofreference with respect to a point of entry of the user into the building300 to begin the building mapping process. At step 202, the user entersthe building 300 and the extent of the room 302 entered by the user ismeasured by the acoustic signal transmitted at step 203 by thetransducer unit 111 toward the walls of the room. The acoustic signal istypically output simultaneously in all directions so that all of thewalls of the room 302 can be located with respect to the tracker module101. This broadcast acoustic signal is reflected off of the walls of theroom 302 and these reflected components of the broadcast signal arereceived by the receiver in the transducer unit 111 at step 204. Thetransit time of these acoustic signals broadcast from the transmitter ofthe transducer unit 111, reflected from the walls of the room 302 andreturned to the receiver of the transducer unit 111 is indicative of thedistance of the walls of the room 302 from the tracker module 101. Theprocessor 118 uses the transit time of the acoustic signals to computeat step 205 the dimensions of the room 302 that the user is presently islocated in.

The position and orientation of the tracker module 101 within the room302 is also identified by the inertial guidance system 112 in terms ofthe rotational position of the user, and the lateral position of theuser as determined by the gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometerslocated within the inertial guidance unit 112. Thus, in FIG. 3, thelocation and direction of movement of the tracker modules 101, 102 areindicated by arrow-shaped symbols. In particular, in well known fashion,any movement of the user is detected by these sensors at step 206 andthe duration of the movement and rate of movement is used by theprocessor 118 at step 207 to identify user position in terms of linearmovement from the user entry point into the building 301 to the presentlocation. The gyroscopes identify any roll, pitch and yaw, all of whichdata is used to compute the user position and orientation in well knownfashion. The processor 118 can compare the data produced by the inertialguidance system 112 and the transducer unit 111 at step 208 to provide“mid-course” corrections in terms of the precise location of the trackermodule 101 in the building.

At step 209, the processor 118 transmits the data received from thetransducer unit 111, inertial guidance unit 112 and sensor module 114 tothe command module 103 via the radio frequency communication channelestablished communications unit 113. This transmitted data can be rawdata or partially processed data, in the form of data output by theprocessor 118 as a result of the software 119 providing an initialcomputation of the position of the tracker module 101, extent of therooms, computed state of the variables measured by the sensor module 114and the like. At step 210, the command module 103 correlates the datareceived from the plurality of tracker modules 101, 102 and produces avirtual map of the building as the users move with their respectivetracker modules 101, 102 through the building. The virtual map can betransmitted at step 211 by the command module 103 to the tracker modules101, 102 for display to the user at step 212 via the heads-up display115.

The user(s) then proceed through various rooms of the building (such as311-314 for tracker module 102) and the automatic building mappingsystem 100 maps the path of each tracker module as steps 202-212 arerepeated on a continuous basis.

SUMMARY

The automatic building mapping system comprises a set of equipment thatcan be carried by a user to dynamically create an accurate virtual mapon demand by the users moving through the rooms of the building.

1. A system for the automatic and dynamic tracking of an user's positionrelative to an interior of a building having a plurality ofinterconnected rooms, comprising: means, transportable by said user, forgenerating data indicative of a distance between said user and walls ofa room in which said user is presently located; means for locating saidposition of said user in said building; means for cumulatively mappingthe extent of each room in which said user is located and said user'sposition relative to said room to produce a map of said user's positionrelative to said interior of said building; means for transmitting saidmap to a tracking entity; means for displaying said map to said trackingentity; wherein said tracking entity can monitor said position of saiduser relative to said interior of said building; and sensor means formeasuring at least one of building and user parameters: ambienttemperature, presence of toxic gasses, oxygen level in a breathing tank,time to exhaustion of breathable air in the breathing tank, userbreathing rate and heart rate sensors, user time in area, a user failureto move indicator, command and control alerts, text readout of messagesfrom the command and control system, voice activation of the unitincluding the display, location of other users in the vicinity, warningindications.
 2. The system for the automatic and dynamic tracking of anuser's position relative to an interior of a building of claim 1 whereinsaid means for generating data comprises: means for transmitting asignal toward said walls of said room; means for receiving components ofsaid transmitted signal reflected off said walls of said room; and meansfor determining a distance from said user to said walls as a function ofthe time difference between transmitting said signal and receipt of saidreflected components of said transmitted signal.
 3. The system for theautomatic and dynamic tracking of an user's position relative to aninterior of a building of claim 2 wherein said means for generating datafurther comprises: means for identifying a presence of an opening insaid walls.
 4. The system for the automatic and dynamic tracking of anuser's position relative to an interior of a building of claim 1 whereinsaid means for generating data comprises: means for concurrentlymeasuring a distance between said user and a plurality of walls of aroom in which said user is presently located.
 5. The system for theautomatic and dynamic tracking of an user's position relative to aninterior of a building of claim 1 wherein said means for locatingcomprises: inertial guidance means for dynamically measuring movement ofsaid user as said user moves through said rooms of said building.
 6. Thesystem for the automatic and dynamic tracking of an user's positionrelative to an interior of a building of claim 5 wherein said means forlocating further comprises: means for dynamically measuring movement ofsaid user using at least one of movement sensors comprising: gyroscope,accelerometer, rotation detector.
 7. The system for the automatic anddynamic tracking of an user's position relative to an interior of abuilding of claim 1 wherein said means for cumulatively mappingcomprises: means for creating a virtual map of said building using saidgenerated distance data and said user location data for each roomtraversed by said user.
 8. The system for the automatic and dynamictracking of an user's position relative to an interior of a building ofclaim 1 further comprising: means for displaying said at least one ofbuilding and user parameters to said tracking entity.
 9. The system forthe automatic and dynamic tracking of an user's position relative to aninterior of a building of claim 1 wherein said tracking entity isselected from the group consisting of another user and a command module.10. A method of automatic tracking an user's position relative to aninterior of a building having a plurality of interconnected rooms,comprising the steps of: generating, using apparatus transportable bysaid user, data indicative of a distance between said user and walls ofa room in which said user is presently located; locating said positionof said user in said building; cumulatively mapping the extent of eachroom in which said user is located and said user's position relative tosaid room to produce a map of said user's position relative to saidinterior of said building; displaying said map to a tracking entity;wherein said tracking entity can monitor said position of said userrelative to said interior of said building; and measuring at least oneof building and user parameters: ambient temperature, presence of toxicgasses, oxygen level in a breathing tank time to exhaustion ofbreathable air in the breathing tank, user breathing rate and heart ratesensors, user time in area, a user failure to move indicator, commandand control alerts, text readout of messages from the command andcontrol system, voice activation of the unit including the display,location of other users in the vicinity, warming indications.
 11. Themethod of automatic tracking an user's position relative to an interiorof a building of claim 10 wherein said step of generating datacomprises: transmitting a signal toward said walls of said room;receiving components of said transmitted signal reflected off said wallsof said room; and determining a distance from said user to said walls asa function of the time difference between transmitting said signal andreceipt of said reflected components of said transmitted signal.
 12. Themethod of automatic tracking an user's position relative to an interiorof a building of claim 11 wherein said step of generating data furthercomprises: identifying a presence of an opening in said walls.
 13. Themethod of automatic tracking an user's position relative to an interiorof a building of claim 10 wherein said step of generating datacomprises: concurrently measuring a distance between said user and aplurality of walls of a room in which said user is presently located.14. The method of automatic tracking an user's position relative to aninterior of a building of claim 10 wherein said step of locatingcomprises: dynamically measuring movement of said user via an inertialguidance apparatus as said user moves through said rooms of saidbuilding.
 15. The method of automatic tracking an user's positionrelative to an interior of a building of claim 14 wherein said step oflocating further comprises: dynamically measuring movement of said userusing at least one of movement sensors comprising: gyroscope,accelerometer, rotation detector.
 16. The method of automatic trackingan user's position relative to an interior of a building of claim 10wherein said step of cumulatively mapping comprises: creating a virtualmap of said building using said generated distance data and said userlocation data for each room traversed by said user.
 17. The method ofautomatic tracking an user's position relative to an interior of abuilding of claim 10 further comprising: displaying said at least one ofbuilding and user parameters to said tracking entity.
 18. The method ofautomatic tracking an user's position relative to an interior of abuilding of claim 10 wherein said tracking entity is selected from thegroup consisting of another user and a command module.
 19. A system forthe automatic and dynamic tracking of an user's position relative to aninterior of a building having a plurality of interconnected rooms,comprising: tracker module means, transportable by said user,comprising: transducer means for generating data indicative of adistance between said user and walls of a room in which said user ispresently located, inertial guidance means for generating dataindicative of a position of said user in said building; command modulemeans for cumulatively mapping the extent of each room in which saiduser is located and said user's position relative to said room toproduce a map of an interior of said building; transmitter means fortransmitting said map to a tracking entity; end display means fordisplaying said map to said tracking entity; wherein said trackingentity can monitor said position of said user relative to said interiorof said building; and sensor means for measuring at least one ofbuilding and user parameters: ambient temperature, presence of toxicgasses, oxygen level in a breathing tank, time to exhaustion ofbreathable air in the breathing tank user breathing rate and heart ratesensors, user time in area, a user failure to move indicator, commandand control alerts, text readout of messages from the command andcontrol system, voice activation of the unit including the display,location of other users in the vicinity, warning indications.
 20. Thesystem for the automatic and dynamic tracking of an user's positionrelative to an interior of a building of claim 19 wherein saidtransducer means comprises: transmitter means for transmitting a signalto said walls of said room, receiver means for receiving components ofsaid transmitted signal reflected off said walls of said room; andcomputing means for determining a distance from said user to said wallsas a function of the time difference between transmitting said signaland receipt of said reflected components of said transmitted signal. 21.The system for the automatic and dynamic tracking of an user's positionrelative to an interior of a building of claim 20 wherein saidtransducer means further comprises: doorway detecting means foridentifying a presence of an opening in said walls.
 22. The system forthe automatic and dynamic tracking of an user's position relative to aninterior of a building of claim 19 wherein said transducer meanscomprises: means for concurrently measuring a distance between said userand a plurality of walls of a room in which said user is presentlylocated.
 23. The system for the automatic and dynamic tracking of anuser's position relative to an interior of a building of claim 19wherein said inertial guidance means comprises: accelerometer means fordynamically measuring movement of said user as said user moves throughsaid rooms of said building.
 24. The system for the automatic anddynamic tracking of an user's position relative to an interior of abuilding of claim 19 wherein said inertial guidance means comprises:gyroscope means for dynamically measuring movement of said user as saiduser moves through said rooms of said building.
 25. The system for theautomatic and dynamic tracking of an user's position relative to aninterior of a building of claim 19 wherein said inertial guidance meanscomprises: movement sensor means for dynamically measuring movement ofsaid user using at least one of movement sensors comprising: gyroscope,accelerometer, rotation detector.
 26. The system for the automatic anddynamic tracking of an user's position relative to an interior of abuilding of claim 19 wherein said command module means comprises:mapping means for creating a virtual map of said building using saidgenerated distance data and said user location data for each roomtraversed by said user.
 27. The system for the automatic and dynamictracking of an user's position relative to an interior of a building ofclaim 19 wherein said tracking entity is selected from the groupconsisting of another user and a command module.